Friday, August 17, 2012

Tabby Bobcat

One cool October day, Mum came for a vizzie when I was still living at the River House. As we were walking out, I heard a faint meowing coming from the wood shed. Actually, it sounded more like Mmmm-OW-ing, as in rhymes with cow.

Me: What's that sound?

Mum: What sound?

Me: It sounds like a cat.

Mum: Well, don't feed it!

Scraggly & very thin, she looked like a tabby cat with no tail. She was on a log, scratching. After the coast was clear Mum left, I took some dog food out for it. She leaped away, but when I got back onto the porch, I looked over to see her eating. We had some very cold days, so I fashioned a cat house for her on the back porch out of a dog crate.

Porch kitty.

As soon as she was on the porch, she was vying to be graduated from porch kitty to inside-the-house kitty! This, of course, was of great interest & entertainment to Maggie and Millie:

Ooooh, look Mil! A cat!

And then they'd settle down to watch.

Plotting & scheming.

And of course, it was too cold for me to insist she stay outside:

"No it wasn't!" says Mum.

And so in she came. I made that decision when I was talking to my friends Gareth & Lena. I hate litter boxes and Gareth said that their cat just went outside. So that's what I did. She never had an accident in the house, and I didn't have to do the litter box jig. *sigh* Those were the days!

Snowy day & all cozy inside. :-)

From the beginning, this was no ordinary cat:

Climbing up the rail.

What you can't see from this angle is that it's a considerable drop down below!

It was a second story back porch.

She was v. agile and FAST. She could jump 6 feet from a sitting position. I watched her chase up a tree and then just drop down a good 15 feet (I think it was more like 20, but I don't want to exaggerate)! Neighbor Sue, Fisherman Willie's wife, suggested that she may have bobcat in her. Her grandmother had barn cats that had crossed with bobcats and they looked similar. I decided to name her Tabby Bobcat--well, I was going to get fancy & call her Tabitha, but Tabby Bobcat really described how she looks. Eventually I googled and found out she looked like a Pixie-bob cat.

So she became an inside-most-of-the-time cat:

See the notch in the right ear? That tells you she's been fixed. I didn't know this until chiro-sis said that's what they do with feral cats to identify which ones have been spayed or neutered.

No need for labels; all boxes & lids belong to Tabby.

In the middle of reorganizing, Tabby claims her spot.

In my office, Maggie on her bed:

"Hey! What're you doing there? Step away from my breakfast!"

But then . . .

Zzzzzz . . . .

Millie says Hullo.

And lets Tabby sleep on her bed.

Here's MAGGIE without a bed! But notice my slipper off to her side?

One of the things a cat does best:

Zzzzzz . . .

Tabby at the M&M watering hole:

And whenever M&M went out, Tabby would go out, too:

Tabby leading the way down the ramp in front of Maggie.

With Maggie. Tabby loves to take a dirt bath!

One of the characteristics of a Pixie-bob is they like to scratch wood.

This was how Tabby told me she wanted to come in:

*sigh* Hanging from the LR window screen.

I look at this pic & notice the branches behind for kindling in the wood stove.

And then jumping down.

Snowy morning.

Sitting at the top of M&M's ramp.

With Millie down below.

With Millie, around Xmas time or after. I actually kept the Fa-la-la-la-la decals up until I moved.

*sniff*

Tabby making her escape! See the girls wagging their tails at her all swishy-like?

Hullo.

Spring time at the River House

Look at Tabby being all lovey-dovey with Millie. SO SWEET.

And with Maggie--as long as no food is involved!

Sitting by the bird feeder, up to no good!

One sunny-springy day, Tabby decided to follow me when I was walking to the post box:

See the dandelions all in bloom? Love that!

This is about as far as she came.

One of her favourite places; in the LR bay window.

In another box.

"I can't be bothered to open my eyes, but Hullo."

Summertime at the River House

Sitting amongst the clover & plantain.

In stealth mode:

Ears forward, ready to spring.

"Should I get out of the way for Maggie? Meh. I'm a CAT."

What is she staring at so intently?

Oh. Run little squirrel! Run!

I found more than a few headless squirrels. At first I thought it was one of the dogs--but really, unless a squirrel keeled over in front of them in slow motion, there's no way it could have been anyone other than Tabby:

Tabby Bobcat on the porch with Millie; looks like they're both watching something intently!

Lazy summer day.

Hullo.

Saying hello to Maggie when we got back from a trip out.

By the labyrinth:

Tabby reminded me of my cat Vixen that I had to leave behind in WV. She used to come join me in my labyrinth. And now I had Tabby to join me at the River House labyrinth. It was bittersweet. :-)

And then we moved to

The Lake House

First week in the new house; Tabby next to Millie, Maggie behind them.

Perching on the top rail. Cats have extra-large cerebellums for balance.

Recently I gave Tabby a bath:

NOT amused!

I only got one scratch. ;-)

And then came Bingo . . .

Look at that sweet face. :-)

Behind the TV. Not happy. She took to climbing on every surface ABOVE Bingo.

But eventually she settled down.

No pictures of it yet, but Tabby actually touch noses with Bingo today. Progress! In the meantime:

*sigh* Really, Tabby? Really?!!

I give you this retrospective of Tabby. She's never had the kind of pictorial blog posts & attention that I have given to M&M, but has been more as a guest star in their show. She's been with me for almost 2 years. She is my connection to Maggie and Millie, but I love her for her. She is a cat who I think may think she's a dog. She will go after sticks or things I throw in the yard. She follows me around the house. She knows "out" and "treat" and "food." She knows when I say, "Oh boyeeeee," a treat is acomin'. She's my sweetie.

I have every excuse for not initially taking her to the vet when I first started caring for her. Going anywhere when I lived at the River House was a whole day's excursion--anyone who's been down that road, knows. After the move, it's been a whirlwind of --well, everything. It's been a year since the move, and I finally feel like I'm just catching my breath & getting settled.

So last week, I finally took Tabby to the vet to get microchipped--and to make sure she hadn't already been microchipped by a previous owner. We also got a rabies shot, etc. I told Dr. Morgan I thought Tabby was 2-3 years old.

Dr. Morgan: And she's been spayed?

Me: I think so. Her ear is marked & I've not had a surprise litter of kittens.

Dr. Morgan: That might be because this [indicating under the tail] is a boy.

Me: What?

Dr. Morgan: This [pointing to nether region] is where he was neutered. And see here [prodding & poking much to Tabby's displeasure] is his penis.

Me:
Dr. Morgan: She is a he.

So there you have it. Apparently, I'm unfamiliar with feline genitalia. I didn't see any testicles and had assumed Tabby was a SHE. It now makes me question the gender of Isis, another cat I had. But back to Tabby: he has not changed, but my perception of him has. The fearless warrior-princess cat I thought I had, is not that. So now it feels like I have a new cat--even tho he hasn't changed at all. One of my friends said with a twidge of sarcasm, "Now you know how Cher feels." It's taken some getting used to, but in the end, it doesn't matter. He's still my cat who trills at me as he jumps up on the sofa next to me and snuggles up.

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Currently living in the Virginia countryside on a little lake with 3 rescue dogs and a phalanges-threatening cat.
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